How to Avoid Scams

"Antwerp, the diamond capital of the world.”

The Antwerp diamond district is well known, people from all over arrive here to purchase their diamonds. You will find here countless jewelry stores, some small and some bigger. But can you trust them? Unfortunately, you should really be aware of not getting scammed. Diamond scams here are more common than you may know or want to believe. Most consumers don’t actually know that much about diamonds, this leaves them vulnerable to scams and often, they get ripped off by unethical jewelers who take advantage of these unsuspecting consumers. We kindly advise everyone who is considering to make any purchase, to priorly do some homework and read our Education & Guidance/Gemology section. It will guide you and enrich your knowledge and confidence in all terms of the most important characteristics when buying a diamond.

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The most common scams are:

Not Natural Diamonds
This is one of the oldest tricks in the book. Jewelers will try to sell you anything but natural diamonds, of course without mentioning it, to gain more profit. As there is a huge price difference in price and in quality when compared to natural diamonds. By the law, it is required to fully disclose to the consumer if the diamonds are treated, synthetic or simulants. Always ask if the diamond is natural, and if its appearance is not altered by any artificial treatment. 

Uncertified Diamonds
Jewelers will often want to profit off your ignorance and offer you uncertified diamonds at a price is which is too good to be true. In most cases, these diamonds are of extremely low quality and actually unsellable once they are officially graded by reliable gemological laboratories. Think about it, would you buy a diamond that is graded by GIA with L in color and I3 in clarity? Always insist on a world-recognized, independent, grading report like GIA’s for any diamond purchase. We at Riginov offer our customers only authentic, natural diamonds, sealed and certified by GIA.

Unreliable Certificates
Jewelers will convince you to buy diamonds certified by unreliable laboratories or unknown sources. There are different gemological laboratories in the world that provide certification services, but many are owned by wholesalers or retailers and does not operate as a non-profit organization. Each lab follows its own grading system, some may be strict and consistent, while others have been known to inflate their grades to make a stone seem more desirable, and therefore more valuable than it actually is. The three most highly regarded, internationally acclaimed gemological laboratories are: GIA, HRD, and IGI. However, diamonds that are graded by GIA are the most highly valued and trustworthy in the diamond industry. The GIA Diamond Grading Report is your assurance for a confident purchase, as you know the exact characteristics of your diamond. If your diamond was graded by a different lab, your diamond would be less expensive, but it might be of lower quality. For example, an EGL certified diamond graded E in color and VS2 in clarity is comparable to a GIA diamond graded G in color and SI1 in clarity. Always insist on a world-recognized, independent, grading report like GIA’s for any diamond purchase.

Fake Certificates
If you are an educated diamond buyer, you will most certainly ask for a reliable certificate like GIA.

However, some jewelers may alter those trusted certificates. This is a challenging diamond scam for jewelers to pull off, but it happens.
If a certificate is missing any of the security features or looks like it has been tampered with, keep your wallet in your pocket and leave the store immediately. If you suspect that a jeweler has altered a certificate from a major lab, you should report that jeweler to the laboratory in question. Gemological laboratories take their reputations seriously and will pursue scam artists that alter their certificates to the fullest extent of the law.
Some jewelers will also present certificates from generic labs that they may own. These are also unacceptable if not accompanied by a certificate from the GIA, AGS, or EGL to back up the lesser-known report. The GIA has also developed an online check tool for you to verify a GIA report you are shown against their own digital database.

A GIA Diamond Grading Report provides an objective assessment of a diamond’s quality based on the 4C’s and discloses any permanent treatments that may have been done to enhance its appearance. For added security, GIA will laser inscribe the report number on the diamond’s girdle.
If you’re presented with a gemstone and a GIA report, you can use Report Check to verify that the report results match those listed in the GIA database.